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Monday, December 9, 2013

Vatican
City, 8 December 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace the Holy Father received in audience the president of the
Republic of the Congo, Denis Sassou N'Guesso, who subsequently went
on to meet with Archbishop Pietro Parolin, secretary of State.

During
the cordial discussions, the Parties focused on the positive
contribution made by the Catholic Church in Congolese society, in
particular in the fields of welfare and education. Mention was made
of the good existing relations between the Holy See and the Republic
of Congo, and various themes of common interest were considered,
renewing intentions to strengthen further bilateral collaboration.

Finally,
the focus turned to several questions of interest to Central Africa,
including various situations of a humanitarian nature, with
particular attention to assistance for refugees, as well as the
problem of security in the Region, also in relation to the growth of
tensions due to fundamentalism.

Vatican
City, 8 December 2013 (VIS) – “Let us pray with trust that in the
Holy Land and in all the Middle East peace may always arise again
from the all too frequent and often dramatic interruptions. Let let
enmity and divisions cease for ever”. This was the Pope's appeal
during the morning Mass in the Santa Marta guesthouse, concelebrated
with the Partriarch of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts, Ibrahim
Isaac Sidrik, as a public demonstration of the ecclesiastical
communion sought by the Patriarch and conceded by Pope Benedict XVI.

Francis
cited the prophet Isaiah, who “reawakened in our hearts the wait
for the glorious return of the Lord”, commenting that “the
encouragement to those with 'fearful hearts' we feel to be addressed
to those in the beloved land of Egypt, who experience insecurity and
violence, at times because of their Christian faith. 'Be strong; do
not fear!' These are the words of consolation that find confirmation
in fraternal solidarity. I am grateful to God for this encounter,
which gives me a way of reinforcing your – and our – hope, which
is one and the same”.

“The
Gospel presents Christ, Who vanquishes the paralysis of humanity …
the paralyses of the conscience are contagious. With the complicity
of the moments of poverty of history, and our own sin, they can
expand and enter into social structures and communities to the extent
of blocking entire populations. But Christ's command can turn the
situation around: 'Rise, be on your way!”.

“Let
us pray for the rapid reinstatement of peace agreements, often
paralysed by opposed and obscure interests. Let there finally be real
guarantees of religious freedom for all, along with the right of
Christians to live serenely where they are born, in the homeland they
have loved as citizens for two thousand years, to contribute as
always to the good of all. May the Lord Jesus, who experienced flight
with the Holy Family and was received in your generous land, watch
over Egyptians on their travels throughout the world in search of
dignity and security”.

“And
may we proceed, in search of the Lord, in search of new roads, new
ways to reach the Lord. And should it be necessary to open up a hole
in the roof so that we all might be closer to the Lord, let our
imagination, creative in charity, lead us to this: to find and make
new roads for encounter, roads of brotherhood, roads of peace”.

On
his part, the Patriarch Sidrak emphasised that “in this delicate
historical moment”, the Church in Egypt “needs to be supported by
the paternal embrace” of the Holy Father. “In the time that we
prepare to celebrate the incarnation of the Word”, he observed, “we
cannot but recall the historical bond between my land and this
mystery, from the moment in which the first place to welcome the Holy
Family in flight from Herod's persecutions was none other than Egypt.
This corner of land between the desert and the Nile has known, and
still knows, the painful drama experienced by many people who wish to
be listened to and received. Our Church is there, ready to welcome
whoever knocks on the door, and to offer hospitality to whoever seeks
help, to care for the needy and the abandoned, and to give witness to
the Gospel”.

“May
the light of the Holy Nativity be the star that reveals the road of
love, of unity, of reconciliation and of peace, gifts my land greatly
needs. We ask your blessing, Holy Father, and await you in Egypt”.

Vatican
City, 8 December 2013 (VIS) – This Sunday, 8 December, was the
first time that Pope Francis has paid the traditional homage to Mary
Immaculate in Rome's Piazza di Spagna. During his journey by jeep
from the Vatican to the centre of Rome, the Holy Father was warmly
received by Roman faithful and greeted the thousands of people
gathered in the streets near the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See,
opposite the statue of the Virgin, to which the Pope offers a floral
wreath on the day of the Immaculate Conception.

As
is traditional, the Pope stopped briefly in front of the Church of
the Most Holy Trinity where he received the tribute from the Via
Condotti Storeowners Association, and proceeded on foot to the
Square, where he embraced several children and patients in
wheelchairs, and shook hands with many people. After greeting
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the city of Rome, and
Ignazio Marino, mayor of the capital, he recited the following
prayer, composed specially for the occasion:

“Virgin
most holy and immaculate,

to
you, the honour of our people,

and
the loving protector of our city,

do
we turn with loving trust.

You
are all-beautiful, O Mary!

In
you there is no sin.

Awaken
in all of us a renewed desire for holiness:

May
the splendour of truth shine forth in our words,

the
song of charity resound in our works,

purity
and chastity abide in our hearts and bodies,

and
the full beauty of the Gospel be evident in our lives.

You
are all-beautiful, O Mary!

In
you the Word of God became flesh.

Help
us always to heed the Lord’s voice:

May
we never be indifferent to the cry of the poor,

or
untouched by the sufferings of the sick and those in need;

may
we be sensitive to the loneliness of the elderly and the
vulnerability of children,

and
always love and cherish the life of every human being.

You
are all-beautiful, O Mary!

In
you is the fullness of joy born of life with God.

Help
us never to forget the meaning of our earthly journey:

May
the kindly light of faith illumine our days,

the
comforting power of hope direct our steps,

the
contagious warmth of love stir our hearts;

and
may our gaze be fixed on God, in whom true joy is found.

You
are all-beautiful, O Mary!

Hear
our prayer, graciously hear our plea:

May
the beauty of God’s merciful love in Jesus abide in our hearts,

and
may this divine beauty save us, our city and the entire world.

Amen”.

After
the act of veneration, the Pope went on to the Basilica of St. Mary
Major, where, as announced during the Angelus, he prayed before the
image of Mary “Salus populi romani”, for all and especially for
the inhabitants of the capital.

Vatican
City, 8 December 2013 (VIS) – On the day of the Immaculate
Conception, the Pope appeared at the window of his study to pray the
Angelus with the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square,
and asked all to join him in invoking Mary, repeating “Full of
grace”, as God saw her in His loving plan: “beautiful and full of
grace”.

“Our
mother is beautiful!” he continued. “Mary guides us as we journey
towards the Nativity, because she teaches us how to experience the
time of Advent, awaiting the Lord … Who will come to us all
together in the feast, but also to each one of us, in our hearts”.

He
went on to comment on the reading from the Gospel of St. Luke, which
presents Mary, a girl from Galilee, a small village at the outskirts
of the Roman Empire and remote even within Israel. However, although
she was “a young girl from a faraway village”, “the gaze of the
Lord” rested upon her, “and He chose her as the mother of His
Son. In the light of her maternity, Mary was preserved from original
sin, from that fracture in the communion with God, with others and
with creation, which deeply wounds every human being. But this
fracture was healed in advance in the mother of He Who came to free
us from the slavery of sin. The Immaculate Conception is inscribed in
God's design; it is the fruit of God's love, which saves the world”.

“And
the Virgin never strayed from that love; all her life, all her being
is a 'yes' to that love, and a 'yes' to God. But it certainly was not
easy for her! When the Angel describes her as the 'favoured one', she
is 'greatly troubled' since, in her humility, she considers herself
as nothing before God”, but she “listens, obeys within herself,
and answers, 'I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according
to your word'”.

“The
mystery of this girl from Nazareth, who is in God's heart, is not
alien to us”, emphasised the Bishop of Rome. “It is not that she
is there and we are here. No, we are connected. Indeed, God turns His
loving gaze upon every man and every woman. With both name and
surname. His loving gaze falls upon every one of us. The apostle Paul
affirms that God 'chose us in him before the creation of the world to
be holy and blameless in his sight'. We too have always been chosen
by God to lead a holy life, free of sin”.

“On
this feast day”, concluded Pope Francis, “contemplating our
Immaculate and beautiful Mother, we also recognise our truest
destiny, our deepest vocation: to be loved, to be transformed by
love, to be transformed by the beauty of God”.

Following
the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted the Church in North America,
which today celebrates the foundation of her first parish, Notre-Dame
de Quebec, 350 years ago. “We give thanks for her journey so far,
especially for the saints and martyrs who have made those lands
fruitful. I give my heartfelt blessing to all the faithful who
celebrate this jubilee”.

Vatican
City, 7 December 2013 (VIS) – A message from Pope Francis, dated 6
December, for the 22nd World Day of the Sick 2014 was published on
Friday. The Day will take place on 11 February 2014, liturgical
memory of the Blessed Virgin Maria of Lourdes, and will take the
theme “Faith and Charity: we too must give our lives for the
brethren”.

The
Pope mentions that the Church sees in the sick “the special
presence of the suffering Christ”, and added that God has reduced
and transformed sickness and suffering. “Reduced”, he writes,
“because it no longer has the last word, which is instead new life
in all its fullness; transformed because in union with Christ, the
negative can become positive”. Jesus is the way, and with His
Spirit we can follow Him. Just as the Father gave His Son for love,
and the Son gave Himself for that same love, we too can love others
as God has loved us, giving our lives for our brethren”.

Francis
went on to mention that by Baptism and Confirmation, we are called to
conform to Christ, the Good Samaritan to all those who suffer. “When
we come close, with tenderness, to those in need of care, we bring
the hope and the smile of God amid the contradictions of the world”.
He explained that to grow in tenderness and respectful, gentle
charity, the best Christian model is Mary. “She knows how to
undertake this path and for this reason she is the Mother of all the
sick and suffering. We are able to turn to her with trust and filial
devotion, sure that she will assist and support us, and will never
abandon us. She is the mother of the Risen Christ” he concluded;
“she stays next to our crosses and accompanies us on the true path
towards resurrection and full life”.

Vatican
City, 7 December 2013 (VIS) - “To proclaim Christ in the digital
era is a special field for the work of the young”, since for them
the internet is in a certain sense their natural home. It is a
widespread, complex reality in continual evolution, and its
development continues to pose the ever-valid question of the
relationship between faith and culture.”

Pope
Francis commented that the theme, chosen by the Pontifical Council
for the Laity in its plenary assembly – “Proclaiming Christ in
the digital era” – was “a very current question” which
however recalled the first centuries of Christianity in which “the
Church wished to measure up to the extraordinary legacy of Greek
culture”.

“Faced
with philosophies of great depth and an educational method of
exceptional value, but infused with pagan elements, the Fathers did
not shy away from comparison, nor did they compromise with any ideas
contrary to their faith. Instead, they were able to recognise and
assimilate the most elevated concepts, transforming them from within
in the light of the Word of God. They implemented St. Paul's call to
'test everything, hold on to the good'. Also, among the opportunities
and dangers of the internet, it is necessary to test everything,
aware that we certainly find false currencies, dangerous illusions
and traps to be avoided. But, guided by the Holy Spirit, we will also
discover valuable opportunities to lead mankind towards the luminous
face of the Lord”.

Among
the possibilities offered by digital communication, the most
important “regards the proclamation of the Gospel. It is certainly
not enough to acquire technological skills, although these are
important. It is above all about meeting real women and men, often
harmed or lost, to offer them real reasons for hope. Proclamation
requires authentic and direct human relations to flow into a personal
encounter with the Lord. Therefore the internet is not enough,
technology is not sufficient. This, however, does not mean that the
presence of the Church on the web is useless; on the contrary, it is
indispensable to be present, always in an evangelical style, in what
has become for many people, especially the young, a sort of life
environment, to reawaken the insuppressible questions the heart asks
about the meaning of existence, and to indicate the way to He Who is
the answer, the divine Mercy made flesh, the Lord Jesus”.

Francis
concluded by commenting that the Church forever walks a path “in
the search of new ways to proclaim the Gospel. The contribution and
the witness of lay faithful is shown every day to be indispensable”.

Vatican
City, 7 December 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Pope received in
audience a delegation from the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, presided
by Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, and whose aim is to “promote
human dignity on the basis of the fundamental truth that man is
created in the image and likeness of God”.

Therefore,
the Pope observed, “it is an originary dignity for every man and
woman, and as such cannot be suppressed … by any power or ideology.
Unfortunately, in our age, so rich in many victories and hopes, there
is no lack of powers and forces that produce a throwaway culture, and
this tends to become a common mentality. The victims of such a
culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings –
the unborn, the poorest, the elderly and infirm, the seriously
disabled – who risk being discarded, expelled by a mechanism that
has to be efficient at all costs. This false model of mankind and of
society brings about a form of atheism that in practice denies the
Word of God”.

“Instead,
if we allow ourselves to be questioned by this Word, if we allow it
to appeal to our personal and social conscience, if we enable it to
call into discussion our ways of thinking and acting, the criteria,
priorities and choices, then things can change. The strength of this
Word sets limits upon anyone who seeks to impose their hegemony,
ignoring the rights and dignity of others. At the same time, it gives
hope and consolation to those who are unable to defend themselves, to
those who do not have the intellectual or practical means of
affirming the value of their suffering, their rights, their own
lives”.

“The
Social Doctrine of the Church, with its full vision of man as a
personal and social being, is your 'compass'”, the Pope emphasised,
addressing the members of Dignitas Humanae, since it constitutes “a
particularly significant result of the long path walked by the People
of God in modern and contemporary history: it is the defence of
religious freedom, of life in all its phases, of the right to work
and to decent work, of the family, of education”.

“Initiatives
such as yours, which seek to help people, communities and
institutions to rediscover the ethical and social importance of the
principle of human dignity, the root of liberty and justice, are to
be welcomed. With this aim, it is necessary to undertake work of
sensitisation and formation, in order that the lay faithful, in any
condition, and especially those who are engaged in the field of
politics, may know how to think in accordance with the Gospel and the
social Doctrine of the Church, and to act coherently, engaging in
dialogue and collaboration with those who share, with sincerity and
intellectual honesty, if not faith, at least a similar vision of
humanity and society, and its ethical consequences. There are many
non-Christians and non-believers who are convinced that the human
person should always be an end and never merely a means”, concluded
the Pope.

Vatican
City, 8 December 2013 (VIS) – Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father
received in private audience Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect
of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorised the
promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

MIRACLES

-
Venerable Servant of God Giovannina Franchi, Italian foundress of the
Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother of Como (1807-1872).

MARTYRS

-
Servants of God Mario Vergara, Italian, professed priest of the
Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions and Isidoro Ngei Ko Lat,
Burmese, layperson and catechist killed in hatred of the faith in
Shadaw, Myanmar, in 1950.

HEROIC
VIRTUES

-
Servant of God Maurice Garrigou, French priest and founder of the
Institute of Our Lady of Compassion (1766-1852).

-
appointed Pr. Simon Kaipuram, C.M., as bishop of Balasore (area
25,118, population 8,974,200, Catholics 23,643, priests 53, religious
174), India. The bishop-elect was born in Thannermukkom, India, 1954
and was ordained a priest in 1980. He holds a doctorate from the
Gregorian Pontifical University, Rome, and has served in the
following pastoral roles: parish vicar in Aligonda and Mohana, in the
diocese of Berhampur, formator and professor at the Aquinas College,
Gopalpur, rector of the Vidya Sadan Theology House, Pune, formator,
professor and dean of studies at the Aquinas College, and formator at
the Vincenzian minor seminary of Baripada, Balasore. He is currently
rector and professor at the Aquinas College, diocesan consultor and
provincial assistant, and visiting professor in various Indian
seminaries and theological institutes. He succeeds Bishop Thomas
Thiruthalil, C.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same diocese, upon having reached the age limit, was accepted by the
Holy Father.

-
accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese
of Brno, Czech Republic, presented by Bishop Petr Esterka, upon
having reached the age limit.

-
accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese
of Lowicz, Poland, presented by Bishop Jozef Zawitkowski, upon having
reached the age limit.

On
Sunday, 8 December the Holy Father appointed Cardinal Peter Kodwo
Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and
Peace” as his Special Envoy to the official ceremony in memory of
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the late former president of the Republic
of South Africa, to be held in Johannesburg on Tuesday 10 December,
2013.

On
Saturday, 7 December the Holy Father:

-
appointed Rev. Georges Bizimana of the clergy of Ngozi, Burundi, as
coadjutor bishop of Bubanza (area 2,700, population 772,000,
Catholics 444,154, priests 40, permanent deacons 6, religious 50),
Burundi. The bishop-elect was born in Buraniro, Burundi in 1965 and
was ordained a priest in 1994. He holds a doctorate in moral theology
from the Alphonsian Academy of the Pontifical Lateran University,
Rome, and has served in the following pastoral roles: formator at the
minor seminary of Mureke, parish vicar in Gasenyi, parish priest of
Mubuga, chancellor of the diocesan and vocational animator, and
professor and subsequently rector at the “Jean Paul II” major
theological seminary of Gitega.

-
appointed Msgr. Rudolf Pierskala as auxiliary bishop of Opole (area ,
population , Catholics , priests , permanent deacons , religious ),
Poland. The bishop-elect was born in Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland in 1959
and was ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a doctorate from the
Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and has served in a number of
pastoral and academic roles, including lecturer in liturgy in the
Pastoral Institute of the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland;
director of the residence for priests emeritus in Opole, lecturer in
the faculty of theology in the University of Opole, pro-deacon in the
faculty of theology and member of the Senate of the University of
Opole, and member of the presbyteral Council. He is currently
chancellor of the Curia, episcopal vicar for divine worship and the
discipline of sacraments, member of the pastoral Council and the
diocesan cCouncil for the continuing formation of priests, and
adjunct professor in the University of Opole. He was named Chaplain
of His Holiness in 2006.

-
appointed Osvaldo Gianoli as director of the Pontifical Villas at
Castelgandolfo.